Best Linux distro for Framework 12's tablet mode?

Framework Laptop 12 Linux
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I use Fedora on my Framework 13 and it’s great. I’m thinking of getting a Framework 12 as backup, but wondering if Fedora works well on touch screens and/or which distros work best for the Framework 12’s touch screen?

And generally, I’m a long time Linux desktop user but I’ve never used it on a touch screen and I don’t know how good/usable it is (I know Linux for mobile isn’t quite there yet, but that’s all)

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This thread is totally not gonna start a war :laughing:

I use Fedora and am really happy with it. I find ubuntu ugly but wanted a supported distro.

Haven’t tried anything else though, but Gnome works great on the touchscreen.

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I don’t use the touch-screen all that often in my everyday tasks, but I’ve had no issues with the touchscreen or tablet mode on standard Fedora, and Fedora KDE Plasma.

I haven’t tried anything else though, so take that for what it is. I can’t say “best,” because I haven’t tried anything else, lol. But Fedora Workstation and KDE Plasma spin work fine for me.

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Thank you @BigT @Jo_Hannes! And yes, I’m not trying to start a distro war :sweat_smile:

I love Fedora GNOME on desktop, so glad to hear it’s working fine with touchscreens! And to understand, does the GNOME UI change at all when in tablet mode? Or does it simply support touch and gesture? I find surprisingly little about this online.

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I haven’t noticed any change in the UI. It just auto-rotates, supports an on-screen keyboard, touch, and gestures. At least, the same gestures it supports on the touchpad also work on the touchscreen.

A stylus also works for drawing, or just using it as a more accurate pointer than your finger.

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I am running Nobara Because CahcyOS was not installing for me. And I wanted a light weight OS with the weaker hardware of the FW12. It runs well and quick and responsive. Touch screen hasn’t been an issue and the pen works well enough that I can do sketches on it.

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Which version of Nobara are you running? The Steam-Handheld version looks interesting for tablets

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I would say Fedora but it’s currently broken. I have to use old kernels to get it to work at all. You could try Ubuntu since it’s more stable if that’s something that matters to you. But that also has some hoops to jump through in order to get it working.

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I believe it has been fixed. I am currently running 7.0.10-101 and tablet mode and auto rotate is working for me.

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Now sure what your measurement criteria is for “best”. So I’ll just throw out what I’m using. Debian Trixie, 13.5. It just works, rock solid. Have it on a FW13 as well.

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I haven’t updated because I’ve been too scared of auto kernel pruning. The only Kernel that works for me is 7.0.8-200 and it’s up next for being deleted. I just don’t want to be stranded without a working tablet mode.

I’m still scared and might need a hug.

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:hugs:

I get it. I actually was planning to finally update to Fedora 44 this morning. I still haven’t, lol. But all along, I’ve kept updating the kernel. I tested autorotate and switching in and out of tablet mode, and it’s all working for me right now on the above mentioned kernel. I’ll let you know if that changes after moving to 44, lol.

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I will be brave.

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FYI, I just finished updating to Fedora 44. Autorotate and the on-screen keyboard don’t seem to be working, :frowning:
7.0.10-201

I’ve done zero troubleshooting, but just FYI.

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Just updated and restarted once to make sure. It seems to be working for me on 7.0.10-201

You’ve taken away my curse. </3

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Hello, I am running Nobara Official, but i wish I had installed the KDE version.

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